HetaOni: Alternate Perspective
by CodeLyoko
Summary: A challenge was set forth when a mansion was discovered near the world summit place. Italy wanted to see who was brave enough to take the dare. He wasn't expecting to run into the rumored monster that ended up killing them all. In a turn of fate, he found himself attempting to save the nations that he disliked, going back time and time again... But why and at what cost? A 2P Tale.
1. Prologue

What's this, a 2P Hetalia fic? Oh wait, a HetaOni fanfic about them? Yes, you read right. I hope that this will be amazing for you all to read as it is for me to write. I may go over the chapters every now and then due to me never being quite happy with the chapters. I plan to make this an amazing 2p version of HetaOni! So enjoy!

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A white shape hurtled through the many twisting hallways of the mansion, creaks of rotten wood filling the tension-thick air. The lights were flickering on and off, barely casting enough illumination for the living thing to see. However, it knew the layout pretty well, embedded into its mind. Sliding on the floorboard, the creature drifted around the corner and down the stairs. At last, the door was nearby! It only glanced back briefly to hear a bone-chilling roar. The ceiling above it shook, dust floating down.

Shit, it knew where it was…

Gleaming red eyes were seen beneath the yellow tinted glasses, a scowl planted on a white face. Sticking out of its mochi-like body was a single brown strand of hair. It knew it would escape this time. In its lips held the key to the dilemma it and other occupants had. Everything was going perfect; finally it found the damn thing! All it had to do was make it to the front door!

Turning the corner and spying the door in question, it leaped from the creaking floorboards and slammed into the door handle, jiggling it. Not able to grip it, it jumped up again to shove the key into the keyhole, able to already taste freedom and smell the fresh air. However, it slammed its forehead into the handle. Something was missing.

The key…

Where was the damn KEY!? This happened every single time at different places. No matter where it was in the mansion, the key kept disappearing from its person. Either it returned to its hiding spot or was left somewhere behind it, the monster always on its tail.

The slight gleam of metal caught the mochi's eyes and it glanced back, spying the dropped key at the bottom of the stairs. When had it been dropped? It just seemed to have just vanished from his mouth. Annoyed, it looked around before it quickly hopped over to it, opening its mouth so that it could grab the cord that held the key. Out of nowhere, in the darkness of the hallway near the stairs, a dark colored hand shot out and caught the key in its grip. Slowly it began to drag it back into the darkness, two grey eyes appearing as a head came into view.

"YoU… WOn't… ESc...aPe…"

The sinister crackly voice left the gaping mouth of the creature, tilting its head to stare hungrily at the mochi. An angry cry left the white creature as it dodged the second hand as it swiped at him. The hand crashed down into the floorboards snapping underneath the pressure. Using its momentum, it slammed its forehead into the monster's face in an attack. The black bodied creature wasn't fazed, letting out a snarl as the mochi retreated.

With its back to the door, and the key now encased by long fingers, the red eyed white creature glared up at its opponent, ready to fight it off. With one leap, it charged to battle it, the cries of each of them echoing the air in the mansion, rattling the windows.

* * *

"You bastardo! You call that training? It was even worse than yesterday's. Japan didn't even show up either. He was sick and tired of not making any progress!" A light Italian-accented voice slipped through the trees as a figure darted through them, looking back every now and then to make sure the cat and mouse game continued. He made sure to stay ahead at least a dozen feet, darting through the packed trees and underbrush. He was not called 'fleet of foot' for show.

"If you have better ideas, then why don't you speak up about then, dummkopf? Japan said he was on his way, so get your ass back to the training field!" The heavy German accent turned the words harsher than they were. However, the Italian paid no mind. He didn't care to listen to anything he had to say at the moment. This was getting too easy. With an arrogant smirk and a gleam in his crimson eyes, he disappeared into the woods, using the speed that always secured him his kills, dancing over roots as if they were not there. So deep into thought he was trying to devise how to get him back for the training that he didn't realize that the sky had shifted to late afternoon. The noise, which had been just a low murmur, exploded into city life conversations, startling him.

Looking around, the Italian found himself in a town. Strange, he swore that he hadn't seen a town in the distance… Well maybe he had gone in the wrong direction while getting distracted by his thoughts. It didn't matter; Germany wouldn't have run all the way here just to get him back into training. He would get his punishment whenever he came back, not that he'd make it easy for the damn German. A malicious smirk spread across his lips. They'd have a pretty painful fight and leave with deep cuts and blood everywhere, but he was used to it. He loved the beautiful color of blood as it stained his enemies. That reminded him; he still needed some for his special sauce. Shaking himself out of his thoughts; they could wait until later.

"Well he won't find me here… He probably gave up at that small cliff. Oh well, now he'll have to deal with a moody Japan then, not my problem. As long as I get some fun with him later. Honestly, his pathetic type of training should be after the damn meeting, not before it." A sinister chuckle slipped through his lips, apparently pleased that he escaped once more. He looked around again, not able to see any town signs.

"Must be an unpopular town… Oh well. Even if I'm lost, all I have to do is figure out which direction I came from again." The Italian sighed, rolling his eyes and he rudely pushed by a couple of teenagers, who glare at him as they went by. He almost made a snarky comment to them, but he refrained, just barely. That small smirk was still on his lips though.

"Really?"

The northern Italian paused, hearing an excited voice. He turned to search the now thinning crowd on the sidewalks. Near a stone stable next to a small house, there were three boys and a girl, whispering to each other. A secret? Whatever it was, the nation was now intrigued. It would be fun to play around with these little humans. They _were_ good for a couple of terrified screams at the very least before they were killed. Now intent on his prey, he examined which one had talked. It seemed to be a brown haired boy, who looked rather eager about something. Confidence radiated from him, a big smile on his face. A disgusted scowl appeared on Italy's face. It was revolting to see kids like that, so happy and carefree. It would be better to see their expressions contorted by fear and terror.

"Hmmm?" The wistful tone slipped out from Italy's lips, leaning against the nearby wall of a building. He was close enough to them that he could hear the group without looking like he was eavesdropping. The only telltale sign that he was even interested was the large malicious smirk on his lips.

"It's just a rumor. You're not… really going… Are you?" The white haired boy of the group looked skeptical, as if he didn't believe that his foolish friend was going to go through with it. The brunette girl then spoke up, just a little worried, nibbling on one of her fingernails and glancing around as if scared someone may have heard them.

"There are ghosts, right? That sounds kinda scary..." Smirking, Italy almost wanted to laugh at the girl. Scary? If this really was a simple ghost story, then he would have no fun in checking it out. He frowned and looked away, eyes narrowing. This would prove to be simply a waste of time then. A few passerbyers looked at him hesitantly before increasing their walking pace, getting an uneasy feeling from him. He could have laughed. Yes, run away like scared little field mice. He was about to push himself away from the wall, wanting to return back to where the world meeting would take place.

"It's true! Lots of people went missing and got eaten by this huge monster!"

The Italian looked back at them quickly. Wait… Did the blonde just say ghosts and monsters? He cocked an eyebrow upwards. That sounded interesting… And even if it was just a rumor, it would make a fun game of dare, and in the end, he could end up terrifying all of them. Who could stay the longest in the mansion without getting scared? Too bad America wasn't that scared of ghosts anymore… But perhaps this will make him relapse to being terrified for once; it was be wonderful to see his freak out once more.

"Let's check it out!... Wait, where is it?" Closing his eyes, the Italian eagerly listened in. Yes, where is this place? He would need to know the location of such an interesting place if he was to set up the dare. He smirked, oh the fun they will have. Regardless if it was true or not, he was planning on how to terrify his fellow nations. He wanted them to almost pass out in fear. He clenched one fist. A sneer appeared on his face.

"If I remember correctly, I heard it was a really big western-styled house east of here." East of here? Hmm… that meant he had to make sure that he could remember how to get to this small town… He didn't want to seem like an idiot arriving after everyone. He had to set up for this…

"So, a haunted house with a monster that eats people? Even if it's not real, it'd be fun to go there and have a little game. Peace time is rarely fun; so different from the chaos of war time. At least in this we can go all out and possibly destroy the abandoned mansion if we wanted… Now to figure out how to tell America so he won't be an ass about it… Maybe after this upcoming meeting." The Italian murmured that to himself, tapping his jaw as he watched the kids. They had traveled to the alleyway near him and the sky was now dark. No one seemed to be worried about that, and there would be no witnesses. He took out a small knife and looked at it, the light from the lamppost nearby making it gleam. He ducked it out of the stream of light so as to not draw attention to it.

It was time to have some fun.

"Excuse me." Italy said sweetly, putting on an innocent yet interested look on his face. He pushed off from the wall, walking towards the group of kids with his knife behind him. The group went quiet and he found that four eyes were on him. They looked hesitant and unsure about his presence.

"I couldn't help but overhear about this mansion. Mind giving me some more information? It sounds like fun to go there on a dare~" He started to herd them into an alleyway. The silly kids barely realizing that due to their eyes fastened only on his gaze that they had backed up and were cut off from an escape route. The white haired boy seemed to snap out of it first and he blinked as he realized that they were trapped.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

The Italian chuckled and drew his knife out into the open, examining its pristine condition. His sweet smile darkened into a sadistic smirk, already picturing the masterpiece the four will become. He decided to ignore the question that was directed to him. He shrugged it off, wanting to start immediately on the newest additions to his artwork.

"Maru kaite chikyuu. Maru kaite chikyuu. Maru kaite chikyuu~" The Italian's voice whispered through the hallway, footsteps echoing with each word he said, the fear practically filling the air. Those terrified eyes, mouths opened to scream with no sound coming forth; it was pure bliss for him. What was the matter with them? Italian got their tongues? A dark chuckled slipped through his lips, eyes widening

"Boku Italia~" Blood splattered the wall in a radiant display of a sadistic artist. Gleaming eyes flickered upwards, observing the storm front that was billowing closer.

_This will be fun._


	2. Chapter 1

Here's the awaited first chapter! I hope you all enjoy it. If you have anything you are dying to see, please comment and I can see what I can do about it. I'm not sure where this will lead, but trust me when I remind you that this will be slightly interactive as well. Since this will be my own plot of what could happen, it may and may not have similarities to the original HetaOni. And like I said before, having your input would be great to toy around with. Enjoy it!

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_A deserted house in a mountain, about three hours on foot from the world summit place. No one knows how long it has been there or who used to live in it. Rumors had it that it was haunted. Of course, that was just it, rumors, although no one who went there returned._

"Where is this mansion you were talking about? You said it was three hours, right? It's been almost five!" The young man in a black bomber jacket twirled his peculiar chainsaw-bat around in his hand, blood droplets flying from the chainsaw's teeth. He was scowling at the trees in front of him as he tread through the barely used dirt trail as it twisted and turned through the forest. He swore, if the psychotic Italian had lied to him and just sent them on a wild goose chase… He would murder him. The damn smirking bastard always wanted to find another way to tick him off.

"You could have used the map to prevent from getting lost." Canada spoke up from behind the group, just in front of the Italian. The nations turned to him briefly, surprised to see the normally silent nation speak up, his loud voice easily heard throughout the area. His ice blue eyes stared at everyone underneath his winter-frosted locks, the black hoody preventing the chilly wind from blowing them into his vision. There was a slight frown on his face; his brother hated maps with a passion, rather wanting to rely on his electronics to get around. That was a difference between the two, he preferred a map. And of course there was that hatred of stopping and asking for directions… The second largest nation fell quiet again. The large bear at his feet looked up at him, almost seeming to grin, the maple leaf marking on its left eyes seeming to disappear in the shadows of the foliage.

"Who are you again?" The bear's voice was slight taunting, knowing what reaction it would receive from its owner. Instantly the Canadian glared down at his companion with angry eyes, annoyance dwelling on his face. He looked away and increased his pace, planning to ignore the bear for a while. He shifted his red bow more securely on his shoulder, thinking about how quickly it would be to put an arrow through his pet's head… But he would never go through it; perhaps just whacking him on the head would suffice.

"Awww, come on bro. The best and only Hero in the world doesn't need maps! You guys are just specks of ink on it anyways. Everyone knows I'm the most important nation here." America said, dropping back to drape his arm around his brother's shoulder. The other nation leaned away from his touch, sending a glare his way. However the other wasn't affected by it, the smirk only widening as he decreased the distance created. He never knew what his brother was thinking, but it was fun messing with him like this. The silent Canadian never liked much contact with the others. But he stopped trying to pull away from him, knowing that no matter how hard he tried, his brother would not let him get away. America hadn't even noticed the heated glares he was getting from the other three nations at his comment.

"Or you could have used your GPS you are so proud of." The Japanese nation mentioned, looking around. America constantly boasted about his achievements enough as it was, so why not put them to use already? Narrowing his crimson eyes, he shook his head, turning his attention back onto finding out where the mansion was. The path could hardly be called that, the grass slightly shorter than the surrounding brush and barely seen unless one carefully looked for it.

"Oh, and what would I put in there? 'Creepy mansion in the middle of the woods?' I don't think this damn place even has an address." The American rolled his eyes as he waved off Japan's suggestion. Seriously, why did they even come if they weren't going to help look for it? Opening his mouth again before someone could make a comeback, a British accented tone cut through the air.

"Oh come on, dearies. We should be almost there by now!" England sent a bright smile over his way, golden eyes shining when they were hit by a stray ray of light. He looked over at a tiny red dragon that popped in and out of existence. He muttered something to it, his eyes seeming to sparkle. The nations blankly stared at the strange nation as he searched for something in his long green jacket.

"Dude, you're being weird again. I think you put too much sugar into that tea of yours or whatever." America said, shaking his head. England simply smiled over at him at waved him off, something glinting from inside his jacket while his hand pulled out his phone to check the time.

"Oh poppycock, you enjoy my food _and _my tea, don't you dare try to deny it. And I happen to love my sugar as well." His eyes gleamed in warning, to which the American looked hesitant about and became quiet. Japan smirked over at him. It was amusing how easily the American was wary of making the island nation mad. Just like Canada was unpredictable with his stealth, England had a nasty streak that was hard to miss when his 'tea boiled over'. Behind the rest of the nations was Italy, tagging along in the back as he looked around, crimson eyes narrowed beneath his auburn bangs. He seemed to be deep in thought, somewhat of an uncommon occurrence. Instead of making a snark comment or berating the American for losing his way so easily, he stared blankly ahead, his body automatically following his fellow companions'. This attracted the attention of America as he glanced back to his brother.

"Oh look, our resident flag waver is all the way in the back. _What a surprise~ _What's the matter, dude? Scared of a little mansion?" Glowing eyes snapped up to glare into the similar hues, as if challenging him to repeat that insult again. A flag waver? Please, that was just a ruse to get people's guards down before he killed them. It was entertaining seeing the shock on the enemy's face when that scared look of his turned deadly with disastrous intent. The Japanese nation glanced back to see what the ruckus was about before he shook his head and kept walking along the path. He wasn't going to get dragged into this again; he knew his ally could hold his own, everyone knew it. The other nations followed him, leaving the Italian and American facing off alone.

"Care to repeat that again, vegan breath?" Italy asked, his eyes narrowing in challenge. A smirk was suddenly twisting his lips up, waiting to see the reaction of the opposite one. Upon hearing the returning insult, the American quickly thought for a comeback.

"Well at least I don't have to kill people to get the ingredients for my food." The Italian growled underneath his breath. Such a weak insult, but it still irked him.

"There's nothing wrong with my sauce, you narcissist anti-hero." It was an easy comeback, brining another dark smirk to his lips as he began to see the American's face darken in rage. They could stand there forever to banter like this, or they can skip the name calling and just go to beating the shit out of each other. He twirled his knife lazily in hand, awaiting the next move from the American, anticipating the adrenaline of the fight to soon happen. It was a stare down, the taller nation about to snarl something at him about being the only hero in the world when they heard an accented voice calling out to them, one with an almost sinister undertone.

"Do I have to go over there and break this up?"The two nations paused and glanced back at the almost disappearing trail, where the Englishman had stopped to watch the escalation of the bickering. If there was one thing they knew, it was not to push England too far. Although the incidents were far and few between, they always ended badly.

When America glared at him before he turned back to catch up to the others, the Mediterranean nation's face changed. The smirk fell from his lips and he looked behind him, inspecting the path as if looking for something. There was a crack and his hand instantly went to his knife, the blade gleaming even in the shadows, threatening whatever was there to show itself. Narrowed eyes glared into the trees around him, trying to pinpoint what had done so. It was only a few seconds before the Italian shook his head and quickened his pace to catch up with the other nations. England was pushing through the brush that got thicker the more they walked. America got annoyed enough to start hacking at the space in front of him with his weapon, more than tired of having to deal with it.

There was a murmur somewhere up ahead from Japan, attracting everyone's attention.

"Over here, I think I see something." Canada was the first one to reach him, pushing past trees that seemed to want to reach out and grab him. England ducked underneath low branches, leaving his ex-colony to chop them off cleanly. Italy was right behind him. Looking around as he caught up to Japan, they noticed the tips of a roof poking out of the trees ahead. Increasing their pace, they found themselves on a paved road that was worn down from the elements, stopping right at the edge of the forest they exited.

"Wow, it's actually here." Italy mentioned, gazing up at the large building. It was indeed massive, four stories in height with a few windows that looked cracked and dusty. The paint was peeling off the walls with vines attempting to overtake the house as its own. The landscape around it was overgrown, weeds and grass out of control while the road was cracked and fading into the yard.

"Wait, you mean you didn't expect us to even find it?" America turned on Italy, his eyes narrowed and his bat patting his shoulder. The brunette waved him off, smirking at the anger in those eyes, ignoring him as the others were. Their spats were too common that slowly their attention strayed from them.

"No, I didn't expect you to find it." America was tempted to draw his bat and slam it across the Italian's face, but England put a hand on his shoulder to stop him, shaking his head. Huffing, the man turned away from Italy.

"It doesn't look that bad despite its flaws, the rumor probably doesn't even exist anyways. Are you sure this will be worth our time?" The island nation carefully looked it over, crimson eyes trying to size it up. It simply looked like an abandoned building with nothing of interest. Even his 'haunted' locations back home were more interesting than this dump.

"This'll be boring…" Canada muttered, although his voice was loud enough that anyone near him could easily have heard him. Japan shrugged at the comment, only half interested in this rumor they heard about. He wasn't finding the idea of walking around an assumedly 'haunted' mansion for a few hours exciting. This was cutting into his training time.

"Oh come on, chicken brains, we just got here. Or are you too scared to even check out the insides? Does the hero always have to do everything?" The other four nations sighed at the same time. There he went with the 'hero' stuff once more. Honestly, they thought that they would all be used to it by now. But England knew best that this all started when he was younger and he never had the heart to correct that bad habit. He had thought it was cute when the smaller nation had run around with a wooden sword trying to beat up anyone who got in his way, yelling out that only he can be the hero of the world. He smiled brightly at that memory, his Red Pepper Dragon resting on his shoulder, eyes fastened on the building.

"We must at least walk through it. It's not often that we have a little adventure to ourselves, now is there?" The Englishman encouraged with his bright cheerful smile. Before anyone could say another word, there was a crack and the doors burst open due to America getting impatient. Shaking their heads, each nation made their way into the mansion. Canada was the last one outside the house, rolling his eyes as his brother made such a loud racket in his grand entrance. The saw marks on the door where he hit it with his weapon were deep, splintering the wood. His bear was silent at his feet, looking up at him as if to tell him to go inside already. However he was still ignoring his bear from the comment he made earlier.

A sudden gust of wind blew at his back harshly and he turned around and frowned, sensing something. It was well known that the Canadian was a great observer, using his stealth to watch without revealing his presence. Something was in the trees… But where? The leaves rustled in the wind, teasing him as they tried to distract him. Sharp eyes peered into the landscape, the hair on the back of his neck rising. He swore, if it was one of the other nations who hadn't come trying to prank him, they would find an arrow heading their way with no remorse. He was just about to get his weapon ready when a voice startled him out of the silence.

"Canada, are you coming? America will be on his ass laughing if you ran away now." The archer's eyes darted to the doorway, where Italy was leaning against it, playing with his knife in his hands, not able to catch those red eyes that were absorbed on that weapon of his. The Italian seemed bored, not too interested in the mansion they were about to enter. Frowning, the silent nation made sure his weapon was once more secure.

"If that asshole thought I'd run because of this, then he has another thing coming." The Italian hardly looked surprised at the comment, watching as he brushed past him into the mansion. Stepping in after him, the knife was slipped back into his pocket. Creaking angrily, the door closed with a loud bang behind him.


	3. Chapter 2

I know I have been running behind in so many of my stories, but I promise you that they all are being worked on! Also I just got the title 'Satan of 2p HetaOni' by one of my friends, so now I'm in a fit of giggles on what I have planned for you all. Trust me when I say there will be feels, table flips, flailing, and foreshadowing galore. Plus a lot of hate because of the torture I shall inflict on the poor characters. Enjoy yet another chapter of 2p HetaOni. And for those also still reading this, I do plan to have yet another version of HetaOni, one where the Ancient Nations get trapped inside. You WON'T want to miss that. Tata~

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Darkness was all that met their vision, the light from outside vanishing once the heavy wooden door was slammed shut. Silence met their ears and the nations attempted to look around, squinting their eyes in vain. It was as if the darkness was blocking any attempt at them being able to see. The floor boards creaked underneath their feet as they shifted their weight side to side. The island nation coughed and looked around, dust filling the air and irritating his throat. Were they just going to stand here and suffocate in this disgusting dust or move around? His lips were threatening to twitch down into a deep frown, although no one could see it. Luckily someone brought up his thoughts in a loud voice.

"Alright enough looking around aimlessly, someone find the damn switch." America growled out, peering in the darkness. The grime-covered windows did little to help their predicament, refusing to let even the most helpful ray of light. The rest of the nations began to walk around cautiously, feeling for the light switch blindly with their hands. Canada wandered over away from the group and began to wipe at the window, barley able to scrape off any of the substance off of the glass. He leaned towards it to inspect it a bit more with the poor light he was now receiving from the now grime-less spot.

There was a loud crash, the sound of something breaking. The nations nearly jumped, the sound echoing throughout the mansion, the source of where it came from could barely be traced.

"What on earth was that?" England asked. Italy jerked back after almost tripping on a crack in the carpeted floor when the loud noise came, accidently bumping straight into America. Growling, and not knowing who it was, the American grabbed his weapon and swung it around towards him, the noise having him on edge. Hissing in annoyance at hearing a weapon coming towards him, the Italian raised his knife up and used his other arm to help block the attack, glaring at the direction of his attacker. The sound of metal tearing through clothing made everyone stop for a second to wonder what was going on, prompting an Englishman to quickly search the wall behind him.

"Found it."

The light flickered on just in time for the two nations to see who exactly they were fighting. There was a moment in silence, Japan simply sighing at what had happened. Of course this was rather common of an occurrence; everyone knew of the rivalry, and hatred, that the American and Italian had for each other, but this was bordering on ridiculous. They were here just to check out this supposedly haunted mansion and this was the second time they went at it already. At this rate, the two would destroy the mansion in the ensuing fight if left to their own devices. That would not do.

The two armed nations glared at each other, daring each other to make another move. There was a small cut where the metal had slid against Italy's exposed skin through the tear. England coughed, glaring at the two with a wide smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. There was no need for him to say anything, as something deep within his eyes made the two back away from each other. That didn't stop them from sending annoyed glances at each other. Throughout the silence one of the nations finally spoke up. Just one single word.

"Idiots." Canada said, his loud voice echoing. He frowned, irritated at how loud it was although he had whispered. However, it did gain him the desired effects of his brother huffing in a near-out, and the Italian simply rolling his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest to non-verbally say that he was not going to do anything. America turned away to inspect his weapon, making sure it hadn't gotten damaged by the irritating Italian.

Canada had already started to head upstairs before they could all discuss on what to do next, bypassing the other nations as he stayed quiet, moving silently, boots barely making a sound on the wooden floorboards. Italy stepped forward to peer up the stairs, furrowing his eyebrows at the darkness. He was about to say something, going towards the stairs himself when England placed a hand on his shoulder to hold him back, shaking his head with a grin. The auburn-haired nation stared at him with a raised eyebrow but he simply patted him, refusing to divulge his reasons.

"Fine, Canada and I'll be heading upstairs; from what we saw, we need to have. We'll meet back in five minutes, dearies. Don't be late." The island nation smiled, quickly catching up to the nation that was now disappearing up the stairs, mumbling along the lines of 'Wait up!'. There was a limited amount of places where they could split up to, although there still were four floors. Wouldn't it have been better if three people had gone up there? Japan barely noticed Italy turning to examine each of the other hallways.

"Dibs on the back rooms, it looks creepy back there!" As soon as those words left America, he darted over to where the hallway besides the stairs was, slowly disappearing into the darkness, searching for a way to light it up so he could go exploring. If there was one thing the arrogant nation liked, it was getting into scenarios that resembled horror movies, it excited him, and to hell with another nation coming with him, he liked to work alone.

"Are we seriously splitting up? I thought we all knew that it's a stupid idea. This is turning out to be just like all those horror movies…" Japan looked at the departing nations and sighed in irritation. They didn't even hear him, did they? Why did they always have to do what they wanted? Honestly, if, for a moment, they rationally thought for a change, then perhaps they could have gotten so much done already.

"Well it looks like it's just you and me, Italy." At least the Italian would understand his frustrations, besides, he had a feeling they should all stick together. Something about this mansion seemed rather off. Did Italy also feel that? He was always quite observant, both in battle and out of it. Turning around to question him about it, the Japanese nation expected his one only true ally to be lazing against a wall, waiting for him to choose a direction to go, or even about to simply walk away with a taunt of him being too slow, but he was surprised at what he saw. The Italian wasn't there. Strange, he hadn't remembered seeing the crafty nation leave during their talk; he had just been near him a second ago. Glancing around quickly to see if Italy was about to turn a corner with a big smirk on his lips, Japan's frown only increased. This was not like him to vanish as well, unless it was training of course. Oh what did it matter?

"Why am I the only one who thinks that we should talk about things before running off? I swear, if they don't get back here in exactly five minutes…"

The Japanese nation began to mutter angrily to himself, shoulders hunched tightly due to the stress this was giving him. It was ridiculous. He would simply have to look around before coming back so they all could figure out if it was truly haunted. Besides from that strange crashing sound, it only looked like an abandoned mansion from the inside and outside. If this was how it would be exploring this place, then he hoped that they would never have to be grouped together again. No wonder they never made any progress in their world meetings.

Japan turned to the right hallway of the staircase, spying a door. Might as well start there; he had five minutes to explore anyways, s why not make the best of it? Japan walked towards his destination with quick steps and a sense of uneasiness. Cracks littered the walls near the door, the paint starting to flake off everywhere. How old was this place? His hand extended to grip the doorknob, turning the cold thing in his hands. Wait, it seemed like it was a bit warm, as if someone had already placed their hand on it not even a minute ago. No one had come this way that he had noticed. Was it simply a trick of his own mind? He made to push the door but it wouldn't move, immoveable. It was locked… Frowning, Japan glared at the door. Damn, did he actually have to find a key for it?

That would be problematic; whoever had been the last owner may had taken most of the keys with them. Abandoning the locked door, the door farther away looked more promising. The floorboards creaked underneath his feet, heightening his wariness of the place. It was far too quiet without the other nations. Crimson eyes glanced behind him, hand on his sword's pommel, ready to use it if necessary. Suddenly a thought hit him. This was just a normal house, abandoned and left to the wilderness; why was he, a nation, suddenly nervous like a simple powerless human?

Huffing, he withdrew his hand and went to the door ahead of him, opening it with surprising ease, having expected it to be locked as well. Walking in, his eyes were drawn to the massive TV to the right of him, that portion of the room set up like a living or family room. Three well used white couches faced the TV, the dirtied cushions having holes in them and what looked like to be stuffing coming out of them. Wrinkling his nose at the sight, Japan averted his attention away from that and the large rug underneath everything to the table in the middle of the couches. On the table was a remote, covered in a thick layer of dust that suggested how long it had been there. Removing it from the table, he blew the dust away, trying not to breathe it in. This place could easily be an inspiration for one of his games. Perhaps when he got out he could influence some of his people in that area. A smirk slid across his lips. That would be fun. Pressing the button, his eyes fluttered up to the TV to see the results.

Static.

He should have figured; seeing as it was in the middle of a forest, they probably didn't have cable anymore since the occupants left. His thumb fluttered over the power switch and lowered it to turn the TV off when he noticed something strange about the static. There seemed to be a weird pattern if he looked close enough. Minutes seemed to pass as quickly as seconds, briefly hearing the ticking of a clock somewhere near him as his eyes were glued to the screen. The lines of the white and black static started to change, warping the screen, drawing him closer until…

_CRACK!_

Japan leaped back, hand on his sword, eyes widening. The hell was that? He glanced around, but the only logical explanation was it came from the TV. Frowning, the Japanese nation was now weary of it, the static returning to how it regularly looked like. Staring at it a few seconds longer, he finally shut it off, silence now filling the room. He couldn't explain it, but this abnormal occurrence definitely confirmed it. Something was strange. He had to hurry and find the others and see if they noticed something out of place for them.

Japan was about to leave the room right away when he caught sight of something shattered on the ground, a glint of light. Squinting his eyes, he saw what looked to be scattered pieces of something. Upon closer inspection of the kitchen on the other end, he found it to be a broken plate that had apparently fallen off the counter. Carefully picking up a piece of the grey plate, his eyes shifted from it to the counter. How did it fall indeed… Wait. He thought back to hearing a crash when the lights were off. Had this been the source of it? Something had to have knocked it off, but nothing had been in here... Standing up, he stored the plate piece in a pocket for inspection later, rubbing a finger along the dusty counter. The circle of the only clean surface suggested where the broken object would have been.

"I wonder how the others are faring…" His voice carried along in the big room, making him uneasy. Something just wasn't right; he kept getting that weird feeling in his old bones. Checking the fridge, he found it to be filled with food that was old and moldy. His face turned green and he shoved it shut before leaning over the trashcan nearby, trying not to empty his stomach contents in it. He breathed deeply for a few seconds, trying to calm down. Acid burned the back of his stomach as he swallowed what had been caught in his throat.

Feeling better, he was hesitant to even check out the cupboards and the sink, so he went to the door near the fridge to test if it was locked. Jiggling the doorknob, it indeed was locked. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Did everything have to be locked? It seemed they would have to figure out how to get in, whether it be kicking the doors in, a personal favorite of America's, or finding a key, which would be downright annoying. How long would it take to check every room here, or even find the keys?

Wait…

It had been five minutes already, he had to get back to the hallway to meet up with them. England would definitely reprimand him for not being back on time. Usually he was so precise on time, what had gone wrong this time? Shrugging it off, he made his way out of the room, heading it to the hallway. However, what he saw was not something he was pleased with. He face palmed slightly.

Staring at the spot where they all should have been standing before through his fingers, he could feel a vein pulsing in his temple through his fingers. When they said five minutes, he expected them to be there, especially the one who had been adamant about the time. He tried to soothe the oncoming headache, telling himself that he would simply have to track them down. That was something he was dreading doing. None of the nations every wanted to stay still, and he wasn't even their babysitter. If he was, he would have been richer than China on the first week of watching everyone. Mumbling threats underneath his breath, he was about to walk off when he noticed the door. Slowly his feet brought him closer, noticing for once the designs carved into it.

Slightly calloused fingers brushed over them, following the designs until a huge gash was recognized. Why didn't he recognize it before? Peering at it, he noticed a few more, now able to pick out that they couldn't have been part of the design he had seen. His blood almost ran cold. Was he seeing things or did the marks look like…. Claw marks? That was strange. It was too big to be a dog, so possibly a bear? It could be correct, they were in the middle of a forest after all. Although they came from inside, like something had been trying to get out…

He snapped out from his thoughts, trying to open the door. Perhaps they had left outside to discuss their findings? The door opened easily, and it soothed his nervousness. He had thought, due to his luck with all of the other doors, that this one would suddenly be locked, however strange that would have been. He stepped out slightly, looking around. Thunder loomed ahead and he narrowed his eyes. It seemed the storm was beginning to pick up outside. There would be a problem if they didn't leave soon. Getting lost in the forest outside during this weather was not something he would like to experience. And if for some reason they weren't out here, looking for them would prove just a waste of time.

"Are you out here? Italy? Canada, England? America?" Silence met him and he bit his lip in anger. Where were they? A strong gust of wind blew towards him and he had to shield his eyes with an arm to protect his face. The smell of rain loomed over the atmosphere heavily and he swore he saw a shadow, a bird most likely, swoop before him. He took a step back due to the force of the gust and lowered his arm. Since they weren't out there, it was safe to assume that they lost track of time and were still exploring. Heading back inside, he didn't hear the door's lock click into place when it shut.

Going back to the hallway, he looked ahead to where America had went. Since he was the only one – gods knew where Italy went – who had been exploring the bottom floor, he figure he should go and see what was taking him so long. About to take a step, a flash of a shadow appeared in his peripheral vision on his left, causing him to become alert. He wasn't quick enough to see what it had been but… Was it him, was it Italy? Damn that mischievous nation, sometime he was getting so tired of him and his playful nature.

"Italy? Italy, was that you? This isn't the time to start playing games. Where is everyone else?"

The Japanese nation walked towards the long hallway, bypassing a door on his way. He increased his speed; for some reason, his heart was pounding. This mansion… Something just didn't feel right, even more so now. He heard a door creak, as if it was opening and turned around the corner just in time to see the door at the end close. He frowned. Didn't Italy hear him? Or was it another nation? Children, that's what they were. At his age, the childish acts of the younger nations were getting far too tiring. He couldn't imagine how China felt. Gritting his teeth, he was about to step forward when he realized that he was getting goose bumps underneath his uniform. A chill shuddered its way down his spine, sweat beading on his forehead. What… What was this? Behind him, a dark hand slowly descended towards his shoulder, a harsh breath that spilled a foul stench forth accompanying it.


End file.
